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| Thread ID: 92809 | 2008-08-23 15:44:00 | First Move... Australia or London? | fatjoez (13761) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 699806 | 2008-08-25 12:43:00 | Just graduated University with a bach. commerce in IT/Logistics Short Term I'm looking to get a job and some experience for about a year or 2 Mid-Term I'm looking to move either to Brisbane/Sydney Australia or London UK Just wondering if anyone's made or making the jump and got any opinions / comments? Hey, I have been here in UK from last two years and associated with one of [edited] manufacturer firm. Well, I don't know about Australia but I would suggest to move London UK. There will be more opportunity for you. Best of Luck! [Moderator comment: Hmm .. from the UK yet your IP gives your location as India and your two posts were just to post a link to a commercial website ...?] |
samfoster (13707) | ||
| 699807 | 2008-08-26 11:53:00 | THanks to all the replies. In particular KenESmith. Just regarding your comments yeah. I definately agree it's quite expensive living here. Can you clarify though on the lifestyle differences you mention and activities that are more readily / easily available in NZ For me being almost 22, I to be honest couldn't care less if my house wasn't too big etc as long as I could afford the other stuff eg food, clothes, money to go out party etc. Things that really put me off Auckland/ NZ is it's not really a great place for young people to be honest. Theres a handful of decent (if you can even call it that) clubs, the population (auckland) is increasingly becoming asian, not that I have anything against asians but there's just not as great a sense of diversity which I definately see in places like Australia/London. A lot more people of the same ethnicity as me in Aus/London also which is encouraging These are the sort of things that I value personally. I see lifestyle as the events and people etc rather than the house/car etc that you got From your post i get the idea you're a fair bit older than myself and definately I would not disagree that in raising a family, nz is probably a better choice, but for myself at this stage I still think London would be a better choice over NZ Quite a lot to think about but as you said yourself also, a degree is not a ticket to a good job. At this stage I'm thinking of doing the following... Get a graduate oriented job in NZ for about 1/2 years work experience (or IF possible, a similar grad job but in Australia ~ melbourne/brisbane/sydney) Then if not already there, move to aus get some more work experience for another 2 years or so. By then hopefully would have figured out where i'm at career wise and where my proficiences / interests lie.. in I.T. or Logistics etc Then if still keen move to London which by that time I will have the skills and relative work experience necessary to get a good intermediate job / salary THoughts? It is only natural to want to branch out and see the world when you are young, but there are a few truths you want to be aware of. A University degree with no commercial experience is not a passport to a well paid job, most employers want someone with relevant experience, so you need to acquire that before you book your flight - ie work in NZ for a couple of years. Secondly, when you are comparing salary scales, you also have to compare the cost of living, UK pay scales, especially London, seem great in comparison to NZ, but the cost of living in the UK, especially London, matches the pay scale, and once one gets down to the nitty gritty of living in the UK, keeping a reasonable roof over your head, and food on the table, you will find the UK salary is just as tight as the NZ salary. A pound goes about as far in Britain as a dollar does in NZ. The cost of living in England is high, the quality of life for the average Brit, cannot compare with New Zealand, and you will find that many activities and pass times that Kiwis can take for granted if they wish to pursue them are the preserves of the wealthy. London and the UK in general are exciting, there is over 2000 years of relevant history, London is one of the great cultural capitals of the world, and NZ has little that can compare, but I can assure you living the good life is expensive, and living and working there should not be seen as a long term option , and if you are not entitled to a UK passport, then your time there will be strictly limited. There is also the weather factor, bloody awful in comparison to NZ would describe it, it costs a fortune to keep warm in winter. I am offering you this advice from the experience of living in the UK for many years, I was an officer in the Royal Air Force, I was well paid, had a fairly privileged lifestyle, and was fortunately in the position to take advantage of much of what Britain has to offer, but I can assure you that as a place to raise a family NZ beats the UK hands down. UK is great if you have the money to live a good lifestyle, not so good if you don't. I can highly recommend Australia as a country to live and work in; the cost of living in Brisbane is lower than Auckland's, and the pay rates are on average 40-50% higher in real terms. Sydney has higher pay scales, but the higher cost of living, (accommodation especially) means that the average person is no better off, in fact probably worse off than their counterpart in Brisbane. Australia, economically speaking is in the top 10 world wide for strength of the national economy, and people who are well qualified and prepared to work will do well, but don't roll up in Australia with a fresh new University diploma without relevant business experience and expect to walk into a well paid job - generally such miracles are rare |
fatjoez (13761) | ||
| 699808 | 2008-08-26 11:57:00 | Brisbane is like a giant country town, The boredom will kill you. Great place to live, But not if that isn't what your looking for. Sydney is just like Auckland, Horrible place. I'd suggest going to London, moving into a flat with 30 other kiwi's, and hitting the booze. Your plan from that point can be formulated while boozing. |
Metla (12) | ||
| 699809 | 2008-08-26 12:58:00 | If I had the chance i would get away as far as possible from NZ. Aussie is like NZ mkII | rob_on_guitar (4196) | ||
| 699810 | 2008-08-26 18:56:00 | orrible I'd suggest going to London, moving into a flat with 30 other kiwi's, and hitting the booze. Your plan from that point can be formulated while boozing. Trying your best of course,to make sure they are all girls. |
Cicero (40) | ||
| 699811 | 2008-08-27 12:03:00 | as a kiwi currently residing in London I agree with most of what has been said about it. There is always something to do here if you have the dosh and you will need plenty of it. For eg I currently rent a 1 bedroom flat with my partner and pay 910 pounds per month rent (about 2300NZD). You will have to pay council tax (94 pounds), gas (30 pounds), power (30 pounds) food, travel etc etc etc. It all adds up real quick. All up we probably go through about 2000 pounds per month without being too frivilous so yes it is expensive to live here. You will also get black snot from riding on the tube to often :-) You can always choose to live with 10 other people to keep the costs down and it can be a fun environment as long as you are very easy going. It can get old fast though if you enjoy having a bit of your own space. On the up side so far this year I have snowboarding in the french alps, swam in the med in Turkey (balmy 31 degrees), wandered around the Canary Islands, been to the fringe festival in Edinburgh and am off to Rome shortly just because I can. There is SOOOO much stuff to see and do here that its crazy and is relatively cheap to do. Finally if you are wanting to work in IT then dont come here without at least 1 years experience. I work in the IT industry and there are so many people who are trying to get a foot in the door because they have no experience and most of them get turned down. 1 years experience will go a long way to getting you a job that you can live on as opposed to 1 you can survive on. Anyway hope that was helpful. B. |
Barnabas (4562) | ||
| 699812 | 2008-08-28 14:51:00 | We agree living in London is expensive,especially so if you don't want to slum it in some overpriced dump of a house or flat with a crowd of people trying to do everything on the cheap . Barnabus gave you some idea of costs you can expect to meet living in London . Do you like a good steak - well forget it, in UK the price is astronomical, in fact no red meat is cheap - booze is more expensive than NZ, although if one gets away from London, it is possible to find many excellent beers - I can recommend Theakston's Old Peculiar from Yorkshire, 2 pints and your very unsafe to drive, 3 pints and your legless . Similar with Greene King Abbott draught from Suffolk . (As an aside - Tetleys, one of the Yorkshire Brews had a quaint reputation- "There is one thing about a Tetley's drinker - He will never suffer from constipation") In NZ anyone who wants to can afford to play golf, in the UK Golf is severely rationed by price, in NZ the sailing is excellent, in the UK, again rationed by price, although if you are a competent offshore sailor, and are prepared to be always available whenever required, ie every weekend from April to September, then one can generally get a berth on a racing yacht - and the racing is excellent . The associated social activities can be severely expensive . It is possible to make contact with Owners requiring crew through the RORC . Enjoy trout fishing, forget it, if you can get access to a good trout stream which is hard and expensive, likely as not the owner of the riperian rights retains the fish you catch . Try Pheasant or Grouse shooting when I lived there UKPDS 1000 per gun per week, heavens knows what it costs now . Deer stalking UKPDS 5000 per stag, and you don't own the meat, only the trophy . Enjoy sea fishing, forget, sod all to catch . If you play Rugby there is the London New Zealand Rugby Club - I assume it still exists . Running a car, especially in London, costs the earth, there is a special London loading on Insurance, petrol costs a fortune, forget garaging it, and just finding somewhere to park convenient to your digs can be a problem . The roads are clogged with traffic wherever one wants to go and it takes an eternity to go anywhere, especially on a public holiday, everywhere is crowded . If you are a party and club animal, it's a great place, but again not budget unless you want to slum it . The big pluses, Few places can one walk down a street past over a thousand years of history . Britain has some of the finest museums and art galleries in the world . London has resident 5 world class symphony Orchestras, an excellent ballet, Opera, and Theatre, and an unequaled full calendar of cultural events, and few places in the world can compare to London for these . There are events like the Edinburgh Festival - well worth a serious visit something there for everyone . Architecture is fantastic, especially the cities of York, Cambridge, Chester but to name a few - there is nothing to compare with an English country pub, or cricket on the village green . England is close to Europe and all that it has to offer and Ryan Air and EasyJet operating out of Luton and Stanstead give relatively cheap access to the Continent, although they are not all that cheap during holiday periods . England is amongst the finest places in the world to live if you have the money, but it's not that crash hot if you haven't, especially once you get older . |
KenESmith (6287) | ||
| 699813 | 2008-09-24 20:23:00 | Thanks barnabus & kenesmith I guess it looks like I'm stuck here for a year or so till I get some experience and credentials to as you say make enough to live, rather than survive... Barnabus if you don't mind me asking what field are you in with regards to I.T? and how'd you end up there??? At the moment I'm currently trying to figure out which role I would be best off shooting for as a graduate in order to get the biggest bang (experience,credential/skill wise) for the time I spend working Does anyone have any insights on this? ie.. what's hot in I.T at the moment. Personally I'm not much of a fan of programming and would much rather get into something along the lines of IT Project Support etc.. Working on I.T. implementation/configuration projects etc. Though I'm sure there are many other entry level roles that I have missed???? Cheers! |
fatjoez (13761) | ||
| 699814 | 2008-09-24 20:52:00 | It's not a case of trying to find out what's hot now, more a case of trying to pick a winner that's going to be hot in a couple of years - a very hard ask. If you like playing with new toys (and breaking them) and don't mind the attention to detail required, testing software can be a lucrative niche. Exposure to all sorts of technologies and business solutions....it's also pretty well future-proofed because the skill is technology-agnostic. Doesn't matter what language developers develop in, their work is always going to need checking before implementation. And testing also fulfils your criteria of something along the lines of IT Project Support etc.. Working on I.T. implementation/configuration projects etc. |
johcar (6283) | ||
| 699815 | 2008-09-24 22:47:00 | Another thing to add to the UK is that their Banking system is in the dark ages. Also there is lots of PC nonsense going on as well. I say work for a while here or oz and them do the UK/Europe thing. |
wmoore (6009) | ||
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